


A mate thing

by Inlleaa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Communication, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Galra Keith (Voltron), Healthy Relationships, Idk what happened, Keith has galra features, Korean Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mates, Mating Bites, Mild Sexual Content, No Sex, This was not supposed to be soft, accidental mating but then not, sorry my dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 21:56:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18060893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inlleaa/pseuds/Inlleaa
Summary: Keith and Lance have been friends with benefits for a while now, Keith's caught feelings and accidentally mated with Lance. Keith gives Lance the option of opting but he gets some surprises instead.





	A mate thing

The room was steamed up to the brim, water beating against heated skin like heavy pellets. The two only occupants of the room huddled against a wall as the shower above them drowned out their noises. Not that anyone were to hear them anyway, the large room in the castle designated from showers was so far away from all the rooms and it was so late at night that if the galra crashed in there right now no one would even stir in their sleep.

 

One of the occupants of this large pale room breathed heavily through his nose as he was pushed into the wall after demanding it. His hands hit the metal roughly and he scraped his long nails against it while letting out a guttural growl. The tuft at the end of his tail that had sprouted out of his backside recently, flicked at his ankles and he huffed. His instincts screamed at him to fight back and he did, lashing his hand out only for it to be gripped in a bruising hold and slammed back into the wall this time accompanied by a warm body pressing against him.

 

A little thrill ran through him and his shoulders sagged, a familiar tempered breath brushed against his ears and they flattened back against his head. A rumbled out sound tried scratching up his throat but he pushed it down as he was pressed into the wall by the body behind him.

 

The cool metal made goosebumps rise along his skin and he gasped slightly, instinctually arching away and groaning when that caused his slippery skin to rub against the others.

 

Keith let out a slight whimper as the man behind him dragged his free hand up his chest and squeezed the sensitive nubs there that pointed off of his chest. A smirk pressed into his throat and in a low voice, words drifted through the loud water and his already hazy mind, “Remember you asked for this, Kitten”

 

The next thing Keith knew was that white hot pain was licking pleasurably against all his senses, dull teeth dug into his neck where it connected to his shoulder and something in him curled in delight. He intentionally shifted his hips against the wall and groaned when finally some sweet pleasure was pressed into where he needed it most, he shifted them again with more intuition. Letting out a shaky moan when the teeth at his neck tightened in response and the fingers around his wrist dug their blunt nails into the sensitive skin.

 

His hips jerked slightly at the sensations and a whimper fell past his lips when the teeth left his neck. A warm tongue dragged along the indents there and he breathed in deeply, before the pleasure dimmed as the grip on his skin turned gentle and a soft kiss was pressed to his neck.

 

A soft sigh resonated through him as he was spun around and met the blue eyes of his current fuck buddy.

 

Lance had a familiar dark look on his face, his eyes clouded over with a lust that Keith secretly reveled in being the only one allowed to see. His long fingers let go of Keith’s wrist and he trailed them up to his neck where the mark was, pressing down on it and watching with a delight as an intense tremor run through his lovers body. That smirk curled further and Keith prayed that Lance was too distracted to notice the enthusiastic jerk of traitorous dick.

 

Leaning in, Lance let his breath fall across Keith’s parted lips and pressed close again. His hand finding its place on Keiths wrist again, holding it up as he placed his other warm palm on the lavender skin that circled Keith’s hips and tapered off near his chest. Keith hated it, but he knew that Lance totally had a thing for it.

 

Tilting his chin forward, he breathed in the heated air from Lance’s lips and trembled feeling pleasure curl around his abdomen just as his tail tickled its way up Lance’s calf. None of his body parts listened to him anymore. He expected another kiss, craved it actually. Never ceasing in missing that soft plushness of Lance’s well taken care of mouth. But instead, Lance the fucker ducked away, kissing his cheek instead with a breath of a laugh.

 

Another growl began rumbling out of him before a confused little chirup replaced it as Lances’ fingers suddenly appeared and pressed against his lips instead. Digging in deliciously before dipping between their part and tracing the outlines of his sore teeth, they felt like when he had first lost all his teeth and grew in these adult teeth except for one Lance touched them, then they just sent the urge to bite into something through Keith’s bones. The motherfucker in front of him knew that to, he also knew that Keith would never actually bite him in a million years after the last time they tried that when Lance was bottoming.

 

A horrible moment to think back on, Keith beltadely realised since the minute he did, his eyes darted to the faded scar on Lance’s neck. One that was definitely permanent. The sight of it kindled the fire in Keiths stomach and he groaned and let his eyes close as Lance kissed down his neck and started talking, his thumb starting toying around with his mouth, “So explain to me again, what the bite was for.”

 

Keith did not want to think about all that right now, not wanting to think about all the research he had to put into figure out his biology from the book-thingy that Krolia gave him. But, just one thought back on how Shiro had reprimanded him for not keying Lance in on what was happening made him swallow down any doubts and talk.

 

He nipped at Lance’s thumb lightly, achieving in getting the other to pull it out and look at him. Keith huffed as he knew this was going to be a buzzkill, his shoulders fell in disappointment and he slipped his tail from Lance’s leg. It swayed behind him as Lance noticed the change in mood and let go of Keith’s wrist, instead slipping both hand loosely around his waist as if they were more than just friends relieving stress. Which, at least according to galran biology they were now, Keith did not flirt with that thought for too long.

 

One final sigh and then he said, “It means we’re mates, in galran terms anyway. After me accidentally biting you, I was feeling deep pains that could only be solved be you biting or “mating” me back”

Lance had an adorably curious look on his face. Keith still could not understand how this boy was not disgusted by all this galra stuff and instead was almost obsessively intrigued. Sure, Lance had said once that it was to make their random sex that much better but Keith was pretty sure that Lance was just a furry. Still though, the open outlook towards his race made his heart flip and his hands slip up Lance’s chest to rest on his broad shoulders instead of defensively crossing over his own chest.

 

The young paladin thought about what Keith had just revealed, just like he did when they had first sat in the “star-gazing” -Lance came up with the name for the large room full of windows- deck and talked about this “mate” thing. This time though, instead of saying a bunch of jokes about dogs in heat and bittersweet teases of how they were basically a couple now, he actually talked about it like a normal human being. A soft as silk smile graced his pretty face and he said, “So we’re mates now?”

 

Something tinged the jump in Keith’s heart at the question. Yes, literally speaking they were mates, now both branding marks of the person that in galran terms they are supposed to spend the rest of their life with. They were basically galra married, Lance would get a kick out of that if he teased it out. But Keith was not looking to be upset right now, more than he already is at least, so he kept the clever joke to himself. Instead he aimed for nonchalance and shrugged saying, “We’re mates now.”

 

Lance’s index finger traced a circle into his hip and Keith pushes away the urge to curl into his now mate. He knew that he would start feeling like this the minute Lance bit him, that did not make it any easier though. As he frowned to himself about this, Lance did probably the last thing expected.

 

With an uncharacteristic silence, Lance gently took Keith’s hands off his shoulders and laced their fingers together. Keith only had a chance to flush and let his heart stutter at the endearing move before he was suddenly being pulled into the warm spray of water. A familiar calm washed over him with the smooth droplets before his heart lunged as he was pulled into a hug. His pointed ears sagged down in content but his back stayed rigid as Lance nuzzled against his cheek under the water. Still not saying a word.

 

Purple swelled in the edge’s of his vision as he felt his face warm, curse his half-blood biology making his blushes appear obnoxiously purple against his strictly pale skin. His hands hung suspended in the air as Lance released them and weaved his hands around Keith’s waist resting them on the small of his back. He stumbled forward as Lance pulled their naked forms together in a tight hug, his face landing right on Lance’s bite mark.

 

Seeing it up closer made something curl in him. Something possessive and foreign that managed to invade his muffled thoughts with one overpowering word that had his knees trembling. _Mine_. It weaved like a parasitic plant in a foreign country, threading itself in with all the memories that he had of cherished moments between him and Lance and then finally reaching the one of when he bit Lance. The memory appeared like a vision in his mind.

 

Lance panting and pleading on his bed. His own muscles sore and aching from recently transforming but adding a tremor of desire to everything. Lance fingers clutching desperately at Keith’s pillow as his body trembled through a throaty groan and Keith leaned down. He pressed in as deep as he could, the tight hit around his dick constricting and pulling him in as the owner whimpered helplessly. Sweat glistened on Lance’s bronze skin, inviting Keith to do something, what he was not exactly sure but it ached through him so much that he just leaned down and pressed his mouth against aggressively.

 

He kissed it and sucked at it until Lance was sobbing and clawing at his back. Then his teeth had started to ache and the only solution his mind had provided to the problem was to _bite._ So he did. He bite down hard and shook through an somewhat early but ecstatic orgasm as Lance arched into him and moaned out loudly into the room, his voice ricocheting and resonating through where Keith was connected to his shoulder. They had not ended up getting out after the bed until after at least three more rounds, after round day Keith remembers just completely blissing out making that memory hazing yet breath taking all the same.

 

Remembering this, Keith stared at the mark on Lance’s skin and without a second thought grabbed the others waist and pulled him close. Leaning down and licking a long strip up the scar before latching on like a leech and greedily sucking and kissing at it.

 

Usually, Lance was pretty sensitive in the neck region but his reaction to Keith’s advances were surprising and also heavenly. His grip the had trailed to Keith’s hair to toy with the back of his ears, tightened deliciously almost immediately and a loud gasp ripped from his throat, quickly followed by a deep moan. One that Keith only hears when they are both particularly desperate and Lance lets him absolutely _wreck_ him. It has Keith groaning low as well as that swell of arousing possessiveness swells in him again.

 

He releases Lance’s now ruby red skin with a pop and twists his hips forward into Lance’s. Delighted to find him already sporting a chub again. The other returns the favor and the both shakily moan before leaning up to look at each other.

 

Lance’s eyes hold a flash of confusion but Keith does not dwell on it too much because the minute they lean up, he’s falling forward and pressing his mouth against Lance’s finally. His hand finds Lance’s neck after the readjust their holds a little and presses gently into the mark while pressing his tongue into Lance’s already open mouth. A tremble runs through the other and a soft “oh _fuck_ ” is breathed into Keith’s mouth before Lance in pressing in desperately.

 

The water beats down on them forgotten as the kiss, both groaning and whimpering as Keith presses more against the mark. To the point that he’s worried he’s hurting Lance and for some reason that concern hits him like a fucking train, making him break the kiss and immediately lean down to press a apologetic kiss to the skin. After, he jumps up in surprise at himself and looks away in embarrassment, missing the breathy groan Lance gives.

 

He does not miss the nudge against his groin, as Lance rolls their hips together and breaths out in between pants, “Why’d you stop? That felt fucking incredible..”

 

Keith looked down and clicked his nails against each other while mumbling, “I was worried I was hurting you..”

 

Lance was silent for a second and Keith chanced a look to find the other looking at him with the softest expression of surprise ever. A flush resided high on his cheeks and made Keith look away again, he should not have said that out loud. Ever since they have started sleeping together, they have both been particularly rough with each other both having a thing for it and constantly pushing the limits of what they could do to each other. Never had they stopped in case they were hurting each other unless the other specifically told them to, That was dipping into the waters of showing more affection than just gentle foreplay towards each other. Something Keith avoided like the plague.

 

Yet here he was, stopping because he was worried. It must be a mate thing.

 

Keith wanted to peel himself away from Lance’s warm touch and hide his face in his hands, praying that the slip up was not noticed. But, he is pretty sure that is physically impossible at this point plus Lance is talking again and what he is saying is not ebbing the pleasure in his belly at all.

 

“Hurting me? Dude, that felt fucking incredible! It felt like we were fucking right now! A-and that kiss!... is this normal? With the whole “mate” thing a mean”

 

Keith blinked and rubbed his neck slightly. His eyes flickered towards the door and he said awkwardly, “yeah, well sorta...I read that apparently having your mate touch the mark can be very um, pleasurable. Sometimes can even simulate the feeling of having sex with said mate. And the uh, need to be more,” he waved his hand between the two of them awkwardly, still not meeting Lance’s wondering eyes, “affectionate with each other comes along with being mated as well. Though if we ignore it, it’s supposed to fade eventually with the marks. So you don’t need to worry about becoming attached to me or anything”

 

Keith patted Lance’s shoulder slightly and sent a forced smile to him along with the joke, finally looking at him. His facade fell though when he saw Lance’s confused and very unamused face in lue of his words. Suddenly the air seemed slightly tense and Keith wanted to punch himself, of course he would accidently make a comment about feelings in a relationship that is about anything but feelings.

 

Lance frowned at him and held his gaze for a second. Keith’s tail flicked uneasily behind him, brushing against the wet floor as water continued to thunder down onto them. Then the blue paladin eloquently said, “huh?”

 

Keith looked away again and fisted his hands where the rested on Lance’s shoulder and waist. His heart clenched slightly and his throat was tight, this is what he was trying to avoid. The inevitable talk about feelings that would come along with him going with the route of completing to mating process instead of dealing with intense pain for the next year. His original plan was to just to get Lance to bite him, maybe blow off some steam by messing around in the shower for a little bit and then going back to his room to sleep this all off with a firm pillow squished in his arms. But then, he had to re explain the “mate” thing to Lance and let himself get caught up in Lance’s random shows of affection. Then the thing with the mark happened and he had not even stopped to remember that his book specifically said stuff about what happens when he does what he did.

 

Pulling away from Lance he crossed his arms and hunched into himself, curling his own tail around his ankle as a stabilizer while saying, “Sorry that was weird… forget I said anything.”

 

Lance’s hands fell from where they were suspended in the air and to his sides, he frowned at Keith but the other refused to meet his eyes. He did not want to see what the other was thinking through those eyes. After some silence, Lance reached over Keith and pressed the button to turn of the shower, actual silence filling to room as the water cut off immediately and drained into the sponge like floor. The warmth from Lance’s body radiated towards Keith and he ached to reach out and hold him again, but he ignored it knowing that it was mostly just a mate need. Instead he tightened his arms around himself and Lance spun away from him, trekking towards the wall.

 

Keith looked up in confusion as Lance turned away, watching the other walk over to the wall and pressing a button. The wall fazed away to reveal their towels, Lance reached towards his blue one and Keith’s heart sank. Was he leaving? Was Lance going to leave and not even respond? Keith knew he should not be upset about this, they were not together or anything, lance did not have to respond. But, he could not help but want at least a polite decline not just a complete cold shoulder.

 

Seems like he really did fuck up when he accidently bit Lance. His throat constricted as Lance grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. Looking away, he swallowed and willed the sting away from its trek towards his eyes. The last thing he was going to do is let his new influx of mate hormones make him cry at the nonverbal rejection(ish) of his friend with benefits.

 

Keith’s nails dug tightly into his sides and he ducked his head, for once grateful for his ears that dipped down to hide his distraught face along with his hair. He forced his tail to not give himself away too much by just making it gently sway behind him, but he could not stop it from trembling and stuttering every couple seconds. He still was working on controlling his new appendages. Being further proved by his ears, much against his wishes, flicking up in the sound of Lance’s footsteps probably leaving the room.

 

He hunched further into himself, waiting for the door to open and close so that he can sink to the floor and just cry all this shit out. It was embarrassing and annoying but he was expecting it, his book said that when a mate leaves their mate after they are both mated to each other it had been said to feel worse then death. As much as Keith will reluctantly admit that’s he’s been through some shit, he’s only ever felt the bad back when his father did not make it out of the house when it burned down. He was not looking forward to feeling like _that_ again.

 

He practically jumped out of his skin when a soft towel fell around his shoulders and hands eased him into a hug. A choked out noise left him as he stared over Lance’s shoulder in surprise and was surrounded by warmth. A kiss to his forehead and fingers weaving through his hair later, Lance was looking him in the eyes with a crease to his thin eyebrows and asking, “Keith, how do you think I feel about you?”

 

Keith’s stomach twisted at the question. He did not want to voice it, especially when Lance is looking at him like that. With somber blue eyes and an almost hurt tilt to his lips, the recently more prominent creases on his perfect skin, indenting his face. Reaching up, Keith gripped the towel on his shoulders and tightened it over them, stepping back and making Lance’s hands slip from him again.

 

He felt the same hurt the creased Lance’s face further deep in his chest and brushed it off with a swish of his tail. Wiggling his toes, he stared at them in a chade of escape while saying weakly, “I think you don’t feel anything for me. Why would you? We’re not a couple or anything. Just cuz’ I accidently forced you into mating with me, doesn’t mean you’re suddenly going to love me back.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lance’s hand tighten into a fist as the male muttered, “‘ _Love you back?’_ ” he sounded so astonished. Keith’s heart just sunk lower in his chest as he dropped his ears back in annoyance at himself. He really was not good at this whole “not revealing your feelings” shindig.

 

Lance surprised him for the second time tonight by stepping into his space, and roughly grabbing his face. Keith straightened his back and his ear popped up in alert as Lance forced his face up so that his fuming crystalline eyes could stare into Keith’s own violet ones. This was new. Lance really got upset, like _actually_ upset. Sure they had their squabbles, in and out of the bedroom, but never had Keith seen _that_ look on Lance’s face.

 

Lance’s grip on his face was unforgiving as he squished Keith’s cheeks almost like all those grandma’s in movies when they see their chubby cheeked grandchildren for the first time in months. Keith found it as uncomfortable as he had when watching those movies with the other orphans in the orphanage, but that was not his main thought right now. His main thought was How Lance glared at him while practically growling out, “Keith, do you really think that after all this time that I’ve been trying to flirt with you by being sweet and caring, giving you silly pet names like ‘kitten’ and ‘babe, and constantly being around you. And after you basically told me that we’re the galra equivalent of being married and I tried dropping hints to us basically being a couple now that you obviously were not picking up. _Oh!_ And after the actual months spent with me and you usually ending up in each others beds at the end the day, that I don’t have feelings for you?”

 

Keith blinked in shock. He- what? Just… _what_?

 

Lance has been trying to flirt with him and give him hints this whole time? That’s what all those teases were that Keith thought was Lance just not actually caring about this weird relationship they started had been? That means that this whole time all of this issues with their relationship and entire situation has all been Keith overthinking things. This whole time Keith had been just assuming that Lance did not care about him that he did not take time to even notice all the obvious signs pointing out that Lance did indeed like him back. This whole time they could have been dating and together and happy, if Keith had just gotten his head out of his ass enough to look around for once.

 

Before he could help, laughter bubbled out of him. His body seized up and and trembled before his laughter burst out and he fell from Lance’s loosening hold to double over with the force of it. He was not even sure why he found this so funny, he should be upset about this or something. But, he just can not get past the irony of it all. This whole time he had been- another burst of giggles rumbled out of him and he grabbed onto Lance for support as the other chuckled confusedly and held Keith up.

 

As the young galran kept laughing, his tail swaying everywhere. Lance attempted to straighten him out and only managed to eventually achieve by lifting him up and holding his shoulders. He tried catching the mans eyes but gave up when Keith continued to obnoxiously laugh. The smile that quirked Lance’s lips was totally unintentional as he sighed stiffly and squeakily asked, “Keith? Dude? Mi amor? Is this a good sign right now? Cuz’ I kinda just put myself out there and am feeling pretty worried that your only response has been laughing, not that I don’t think you laughing is bad. Your laugh is actual adorable and you should definitely so more, but this is just kinda a serious situation and my confidence only last for so long and-”

 

Lance’s rambling was cut off by Keith attempting to calm himself by covering his mouth with one hand and grabbing Lance’s cheek with his other hand. He managed to calm himself down enough to gently hold Lance’s face in his palm while looking up and saying, “I’m sorry, 내 사랑, I just can’t help but laugh at how stupid I was. This whole time I thought you were just with me for sex and that was it. I let myself be all upset about having unrequited crushes when my crush liked me the whole time.”

 

Lance blinked for a second as Keith grinned unfazed up at him and could not help but eventually smile back at him. Keith released another laugh and leaned up pressing a kiss to Lance’s lips before breaking into giggles again, Lance joined him as well and nuzzled his neck while squeezing him tightly. Both of them too lost in the warmth settling in their chest to really care about anything else.

 

After hugging for a good five minute _at least_ , Lance pulled back just enough to look at Keith and asked seriously, “So… what does this mean for us now?”

 

Keith blinked and dropped his arms onto Lance’s shoulders, well leaning into him. Lance’s hands slipped under Keith’s towel and held his waist as the other thought. Then something seemed to flash over Keith’s face and he turned a large grin to Lance, with his ears flicking happily Keith said with a smirk, “I guess, we’re mates now?”

 

Lance looked at him for a split second before the largest grin overtook his face. His eyes sparkled and he pulled Keith forward saying, “yeah, we’re mates now.” then he placed the sloppiest kiss ever onto the corner of Keith’s mouth and the two mates broke down into laughter in the silent shower room.

**Author's Note:**

> jkhshmjahdgf this was supposed to be smut but it got soft fast and I honestly have no excuse, sorry not sorry. Anyway, I'm not dead yay, I've just been working on my art account and subsequently took an extended break from writing shit. so sorry guys! But, hey if you want (semi) constant updates for Catradora and Klance art then you should go check out my account https://www.instagram.com/inlleaa/ I also have a twitter where I post nonsense on under the same name as my insta account so if that's something you're into check that out as well. New followers or just likes on my posts are always greatly appreciated <3, Hasta luego!


End file.
